AUBURN, ALA. - A late 16-1 run propelled Samford to a 60-56 win
over Campbell Sunday on the final day of the Global Sports Hoops
Showcase at Auburn Arena.
Campbell (2-3) took its largest lead 51-41 with 8:06 left after
Lorne Merthie hit a three from the right corner, but the Camels
went 7:44 without a field goal.
After
Merthie's trey, Josh Bedwell, Andy King and Jeffrey Merritt hit
threes on consecutive possessions and the Bulldogs cut the margin
to 51-50 with 4:52 to play. The run
extended to 16-1 on a pair of Josh Davis free throws with 28.7
seconds left that put Samford (3-2) in front 57-52.
Tournament MVP Merthie led the Camels with a season-high 22 points
on 8-of-13 shooting, 4-of-4 from three-point range and 2-of-3 from
the stripe. Marvelle Harris came off the bench to score 8 points,
while Preston Dodson had six, plus a game-high seven rebounds.
Merritt led Samford with 12 points, all in the second half.
Bedwell and King added 10 each for the Bulldogs, who hit 14-of-30
(.467) from long range and just 4-of-11 inside the arc.
One day after defeating host Auburn, Campbell shot just 39.6
percent for the game (19-48), but hit 6-of-13 from downtown and
12-of-15 from the stripe.
Campbell converted 13 Samford miscues into a 20-10 edge in points
off turnovers. The Camels finished with a 33-21 advantage on the
glass.
Both the Bulldogs and Camels finished the event with 2-1 records,
defeating the host Tigers in the process.
Samford led 32-30 at the break after making 9-of-17 from 3-point
range. The Bulldogs hit their first four three-point shots and
jumped to a 12-5 lead just 3:19 into the game.
Merthie's three from the left wing capped a 9-2 Camel burst and
tied the score at 26 with 2:59 to play in the period. Campbell
took its first lead (30-29) on Harris' follow shot with 1:03
remaining in the period, but Andy King answered with a triple
before intermission.
Campbell and Samford both finished 2-1 in the tournament, while
Auburn, which defeated Middle Tennessee 68-66 Sunday evening, and
the Blue Raiders went 1-2.
Merthie was named MVP of the Global Sports Hoops Classic after he
averaged 15.7 points and 2.3 steals over three games, shot 53
percent from the field (16-30) and made 10-of-16 three-pointers
(.625).
The junior guard from Sanford, Fla., opened the event with 17
points (4-of-7 threes), 6 rebounds and 3 assists Friday in a 97-90
victory over Middle Tennessee. In Saturday's 61-54 win at Auburn,
Merthie scored 8 points and made four steals as the Camels
converted 24 Auburn turnovers into 25 points.
A pre-season A-Sun all-conference performer, Merthie upped his
season scoring average to 11.4 points per game. He has connected
on 13-of-23 (.565) 3-pointers through five games.
Griffin was named to the all-tournament team after the junior from
Orlando, Fla., averaged 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocked
shots per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor (12-25) and
42 percent (5-12) from 3-point range.
On the year, the 6-foot-8 forward leads the Camels in scoring
(12.2), rebounding (6.0) and blocked shots (12).
The Camels return to action on Saturday when they face Longwood at
1:00 p.m. in their home opener at the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation
Center / Gilbert Craig Gore Arena.
